Cycling: Sonny Colbrelli will not return to the peloton after suffering cardiac arrest in March. But the Italian remains loyal to cycling.
️ @sonnycolbrelli announces retirement from professional cycling.
https://t.co/knqAnBygBy pic.twitter.com/Z13mzGzPkp
— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) October 30, 2022
Colbrelli cannot continue
So he can't come back after all. Sonny Colbrelli had to give up his bike at the age of 32. Because of cardiac arrhythmia, his doctors advise him against a comeback. The Italian collapsed on March 21 this year just after the finish of the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia. Colbrelli had to be resuscitated and he was put in a defibrillator. Although he was already working on his comeback, he now has to admit that he will not return as a professional cyclist.
Sonny Colbrelli:
“I always had the small hope of being able to continue being a professional. I knew that the way back would be difficult with a defibrillator because the device is forbidden by law in Italy for competitive sports. Despite this, I resumed cycling under strict medical supervision and underwent several examinations.”
Heart problems in cycling
Unlike in football, a comeback after heart problems in cycling is probably not that easy. In announcing his retirement, Sonny Colbrelli addressed these differences as well.
“Cycling is not football. We drive on roads. You don't play it on a soccer field where, in an emergency, the medical staff can be there in time. In football, you train in a very small space, while as a cyclist you often spend hours on your own on roads with little traffic.”
Ambassador to Bahrain – Victorious
However, Sonny Colbrelli will not turn his back on cycling as a whole. He remains loyal to his current squad Bahrain – Victorious. Still, he mourns his missed opportunities, such as never winning a stage in a Grand Tour. However, just months before his stroke of fate, he was able to celebrate his greatest success when he won a monument with Paris – Roubaix.
“I owe this new life to my family and everyone who is closest to me. From this I draw the strength to accept this moment in my sporting career. I will no longer be able to add a victory in a Grand Tour or Flanders to my palmarès. Both were a lifelong dream.”